Page 46 of Scotch & Dreams

“Great, I’ve been great.” Her words came out in a rush, and then she added, “I just moved into a nearby cottage, and I have a bit of traction with my styling business. And this place…” her voice trailed off.

He knew she loved it here. He could have predicted that after that first night together when she insisted they go down and meet his horses.

“That’s really great to hear. I'm happy for ye. Did ye get the little white cottage on the hill just down the lane? It’s been up for let for a while now.”

“Yeah, that’s the one. I was so happy to find it. It’s like a hidden gem.” She unconsciously tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

His eyes followed the movement, landing on her exposed creamy neck.

He cleared his throat. “I’m really glad ye're doing well, though I'm no' surprised. I could tell when we met that ye would make things happen.”

She tucked her hands in her denim pockets under the edge of her t-shirt and rocked back on the heels of her rubber boots. The first hint of a smile touched her cupid bow lips. The effect was like the sun heating your skin after a cold dip in the sea.

“How’s yer head?” he asked after a pause.

“Good, all healed up, thank goodness. It's still crazy to me that that's how I started my time here in Scotland.”

“I think a lot of people would've let that defeat them. It's good ye stayed and didn't let it deter ye.”

She shrugged as if she didn't think it was anything significant. It was, though. Lachlan knew many who would not have persevered after a setback like that. He wondered what he'd been thinking, letting her slip out of his life as fast as she'd come in.

“I’m sorry that I dinnae get in touch.” He didn't want to bring up the fact that he never actually got to read her note, but he knew he could have connected with her again, even without her phone number.

“Don’t worry about it, Lachlan.” She moved past him, looping a halter in her hand and picking a saddle off the wall rack. “I better get to work,” she said bluntly as she carried on down the corridor behind him.

He watched as she used her back end to shove open the side door to the stables, without a glance back at him.

Lachlan blew out a breath and leaned an elbow against the wall, scraping a hand through his hair. He supposed that could have gone worse. At least she spoke to him.

Violet. His Violet. No, not yer Violet, he argued against the possessive thought.No' yet, anyway. He had no idea that he was the ripped jeans and t-shirt type guy until now. God, she looked good. Loose fit jeans over her slim legs, with a few fashionable frays where creamy tempting skin peeped through, taunting him, tucked into tall olive-coloured Wellington boots. Wisps of blond hair fell out, slipping out from her topknot and whispering against the skin on her slender neck. He had to tear his mind from imagining her skin goose-fleshing as he ran his tongue along the slim cords of her neck.

He blew out a breath, putting the bridle back on its peg. A few staff members had mentioned the name Violet to him. They had nothing but good things to say about the lass who'd started working there in only the last week. He was tempted to ask more about her. Was she a Canadian lass by chance? But he didn't. He waited with veiled anticipation, bathing the tasks and duties of his day in a lightness.

And now, he knew. It was indeed the lass he hoped it would be. When the mere mention of her name sent a jolt through him, he should have known he'd be done for seeing her again. The prospect of seeing her here at the stables on a regular basis had the same effect as telling a ten-year-old they could attend Hogwarts School of Wizardry. He felt positively giddy.

However, currently, he could foresee two issues—scratch that, three issues. One, she didn't seem to share his enthusiasm for their reunion—not that he could blame her. He'd been an arse to not reach out to her. Two, seeing her at work from time to time was not enough. Not by a long shot. Three, for all intents and purposes, he was her boss. Oh, and fucking number four, he was Saint fucking Lachlan.

Chapter 27

Now What

Violetsomehowavoidedrunninginto Lachlan for the rest of the day, but she knew that it would be a losing battle as time went on. She came home and opened the front door to her lovely little cottage, smiling, seeing where sunlight from the living room bathed the whitewashed entry walls. She set her new glass jar of succulents on the window sill.

At the end of her shift, she'd opened her locker and discovered the cheerful pop of green. She slid out the card from its white envelope with two chestnut horses grazing in a pasture painted on the cover. Inside were the wordsHappy Housewarmingin somebody's scrolled handwriting in larger print and then a smattering of well-wishes and signatures. Her heart warmed, and she smiled, feeling misty-eyed.How thoughtful.

She’d suspected Effie was the facilitator, but reading the kind messages, she’d realized she was lucky to have met such a good group of people. Her eyes scanned the signatures a second time in case she'd missed it on the first read-through. But no, Lachlan's signature wasn't among them. And then she’d chided herself for being distracted by the man and headed home.

Violet noted that Fiona and Andy left the place tidy, which she was glad about since all she wanted to do was curl up on the couch and read the book Fiona lent her. A note on the coffee table caught her eye, and she picked it up.

Fab night, enjoy your charming cottage, speak soon! Fiona x and Andy :)

After devouring a bowl of homemade butternut squash soup she'd found at the small grocery shop up the road from her place, she had renewed energy and decided to finish unpacking. Not that she had much, but still, she wanted to put things in order and then make a list of things she still needed to get. Champagne glasses were at the top of the list.

She sat in the navy wingback chair in her bedroom, listening to the soft swooshing of the waves in the distance. She picked up the book from Fiona and read the words, but they didn't register—her mind was too preoccupied with her new boss.

She groaned, closing her book and pinching her lip between her finger and thumb. It annoyed her that he'd turned her insides to Jello today. Why did he have that effect on her? She thought she was over him. Done. Finished. It was maddening. And now, it turned out she’d likely be seeing him regularly. Maybe he wouldn’t be there that often. He did have a distillery to run, after all. He couldn’t very well run both businesses full on, could he? It was probably why the staff were only just now meeting him in person. Highland Haven was likely just a side thing for him, where he'd work on it from a distance, not in the trenches. And it was also a side thing for her, so maybe they wouldn’t run into each other much at all. She needed to talk to Sierra. She tapped her phone and looked at the time. Eleven p.m. Then she calculated in her head what time it was back home. Early morning.

“Hello?” Sierra answered in a groggy voice.

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